Who Said I Would?
by Obsequious101
Summary: Four words uttered by one particular girl sends this teenage playboy into a tailspin. HIGHSCHOOL FIC
1. Chapter 1

**Who Said I Would?**

by obsequious101

Summary: Four words uttered by one particular girl sends this teenage playboy into a tailspin.

She was serving a particularly difficult customer, he mused.

Her left hand rested on her hip, her middle finger tapping incessantly against her jean-clad thigh. He watched her patient smile dwindle after four minutes of 'um-ing' and 'ah-ing'. By the time five minutes had passed the signs of Kaoru's impatience were blindingly obvious…well at least to him.

She absentmindedly chewed on her lower lip, creating a small dent in the soft, full flesh, as though trying to physically contain her mounting frustration. The result made her look absolutely irresistible…

"Kenshin, you idiot!" Sanosuke yelled, shaking him out of his daze.

Kenshin closed his eyes briefly in annoyance at being interrupted, "What?!" he answered shortly.

Sanosuke hid a smile, "I just asked you, twice, what you were doing in the holidays."

Kenshin sighed, "Oh yeah, Italy. Dad's getting married again."

A large group of teenage girls whom had moments before settled into the booth beside theirs, gasped collectively. Kenshin cocked an eyebrow at them. Blushing and huddling together, they whispered to each other, occasionally stealing glances at him.

"For how long?" Sano asked, stuffing a handful of fries in his mouth

Kenshin leant back in his seat and stretched leisurely, his arms behind his head, "I don't know yet. I was thinking maybe working over there for a year, miss the last year of school…"

The group of girls erupted.

"No!" one of them whimpered, leaning over the partition and throwing herself at him as best she could, "Don't leave us Kenshin-sama!"

He grinned boyishly down at the girl half strewn across his lap and winked at her, "I may need to rethink my plans now."

The girl promptly fainted and her friends hastily pulled her back into their booth, apologizing profusely.

"How can you do that man? It's not normal," Sano grunted, bemused.

Kenshin shook his head and shrugged. Not even Sano knew how much that stuff annoyed him. But they seemed to like it, and if they did then maybe Kaoru…

"Besides Kaoru will go psycho and kill us all if we let you leave."

Kenshin sat up quickly, alert at the mention of her name, "You know I think you're wrong about her."

Sano laughed, "That she's completely in love with you? You're the only one that can't see it man and that's because you're always off romancing some girl."

Kenshin slumped back down onto the table, watching as Kaoru dodged between tables, balancing three full plates.

She didn't look his way once.

…granted she was somewhat busy.

"She doesn't act like them though," and he jerked his head in the direction of another group of girls watching him and fanning themselves.

Sano snorted, "Jou-chans not like that. She's pretty unique in that way but that doesn't mean she doesn't like you."

Kenshin inwardly bristled at the nick name his best friend had for her. Just how close were they?

"She hasn't looked over here once since we came in."

"There's a hundred people in here!" Sano said incredulously, looking down at his friend slouched across the table, who was now watching Kaoru with a dejected expression on his handsome face, "Is it possible the infamous playboy Kenshin Himura has fallen for Jou-chan?"

Kenshin remained silent before muttering, "Does it matter? She hates me."

"No, correction, she SHOULD hate you but she doesn't."

"Why should she hate me?" Kenshin asked, narrowing his eyes at his best friend.

"You act like the ultimate moron whenever you're around her. You act the same way around her that you do around these girls," Sano said gesturing to the giggling fan clubs, "…and you date anything with a skirt…except Jou-chan."

Kenshin glared at him.

Sano ignored the glare and continued thoughtfully, "However I think I know why you date so much."

"Why?" Kenshin asked sarcastically.

"Either you're trying to figure out how to lure her in, in which case you will fail because, like I said, Jou-chans unique – or you are trying to forget her because you think she hates you."

Sano could be amazingly perceptive at times.

"She does hate me."

Sano shook his head in disbelief, "You act so overly confident in every aspect of your life except when it concerns Jou-chan."

"Yeah but that's because everyone else seems to love this stupid act…except her," he said groaning in frustration.

"Why don't you just act the same way around her that you do around Megumi and Aoshi and Misao and me!"

Kenshin shook his head, "All girls seem to like it when you shower them with compliments, and I want her to…"

Sano thumped his fist on the table hard, "You really are stupid! Do you like Jou-chan?"

"Like her?! I'm bloody obsessed!" Kenshin glared at him again, "And why do you call her Jou-chan?"

Sano ignored him, "Then stop acting like a man-whore!"

Kenshin clenched his jaw, "I don't act like a man whore."

"Yes you-"

"Thanks," Kenshin grinned winking at the waitress, who blushed as she handed him his fries.

"Look! There! You did it!"

Kenshin grimaced, "Well yeah but it worked didn't it? If it worked on her then it should work on Kaoru…"

Sano sighed, "I've told you a million times, she's…not…like…that. Look, are you serious about her because if you end up hurting her…"

Kenshin growled.

It only took a small squeal from a passing waitress for him to realize that his eyes had changed colour. Quickly he shook his head until his long red bangs hid his amber eyes from view.

Sano nodded seriously, "Well ok then, lets do this. Hey Jou-chan! Over here a sec!"

Kenshin looked up, his eyes returning to their normal violet colour. The familiar gnawing nervousness claimed his stomach as always whenever she was near him.

He drew in a deep breath to calm his racing heart beat and instead caught her intoxicating jasmine scent, which did nothing but keep him inhaling.

"Hi Sano…Kenshin."

Was it just his imagination or did she hesitate before his name?

He looked up at her and grinned, albeit a little nervously, his heart skipping a beat at how close she was. Her long, silky black hair tied back, twinkling blue eyes, full red lips…

"What are you doing for the summer?" Sano asked casually.

Kaoru sighed, "Probably working here all holidays, I need the money. What about you two?"

"Martial arts tournament," Sano grinned flexing his sizeable biceps, "and Kenshin's going to Italy."

Kaoru's eyes widened and Kenshin fought the urge to jump over the table and kiss her passionately.

"Wow, Italy?"

She was looking at him now, a faint pink blushing staining her cheeks. If he had thought she looked irresistible before, she looked utterly delectable right now.

Maybe Sano was right, maybe she didn't hate him. His usual air of confidence returned.

"Yep," Kenshin grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her gently down so he could whisper in her ear, "Don't worry ill hurry back for you, you won't miss me for long."

She pulled away too fast and when their eyes met, he winced at how annoyed she looked.

"Who said I would?" she said coldly.

Kenshin watched her storm away, his expression crest fallen. It had worked on numerous other girls. And now, the one time it had actually mattered, not only hadn't it worked but it had confirmed his suspicions that she hated his guts.

He thrust his fist down onto the table, nearly splintering it, "Shit!"

Sano groaned in frustration, "I told you it wouldn't work you idiot."

Kenshin buried his head in his hands, "I know! I can't help it! Whenever I talk to her I go into jack-ass mode, trying to impress her or seduce her or…I dunno…I just…" he broke off with a curse.

'Who said I would?' Did she know just how much those four words cut into him?

"Yeah well it looks like you've just pushed her to another guy," Sano said looking over his shoulder.

Kenshin whipped around and zeroed in on the male customer Kaoru was waiting on. He was about the same age as them, with blue eyes lighter than Kaoru, and a wide, beaming smile. Something the teenage boy said made her laugh and Sano shook his head at him.

"Don't kill the guy Kenshin; I'm sure they're just friends-"

The guy leaned close to Kaoru, and pulled her down to his level much the same way he had done moments before, and kissed her.

On the lips.

The soft, full lips that belonged to him…

Kenshin was out of his seat in a second. The man was going to die.

Sano grinned and Megumi slid into the seat beside him, appearing from the back room, "This should be good, let's just hope Soujiro as good as he thinks he is."

"Trust me," Megumi mused, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, "He is. And by the end of it both Kenshin and Kaoru will be thanking us."


	2. Chapter 2

**Who Said I Would?**

by obsequious101

Chapter 2

Kaoru was fuming.

How dare he mock her like that?

'You won't miss me for long' What did he think, that she was some obsessed adolescent who would put her life on hold until he came back? That she'd spend the holidays waiting for his return, dreaming every night that he'd…

She frowned.

Was she really that pathetic?

Did he really _think_ she was that pathetic?

She hated thinking about Kenshin. He never failed to conjure up a mass contradiction of feelings within her.

"Bastard," she muttered, pulling her notebook out of her jeans pocket.

"You're not talking about me are you?" an amused voice said softly, breaking through her haze of anger.

She blushed in mortification as she met the eyes of a young man sitting right in front of her.

"No! I'm just…I…uh…" she noticed him beaming and relaxed slightly, "Sorry. Just talking about…a friend of mine…"

He nodded in understanding, "The red headed woman?"

Kaoru burst into laughter, gaining a few surprised looks from the other customers.

It was funny partially by the dead pan way the young man said it, and because she knew that no one in their right mind could ever mistake Kenshin Himura for a woman.

Beautiful, yes. Womanly, hell no.

The man grinned, "Sorry, low blow, I'm sure many guys have long hair now days. I'm Soujiro."

She smiled warmly, "Kaoru. What would you like today, Soujiro?"

"Good question actually. I would like to kiss you," he said casually, still grinning at her.

Kaoru quirked an eyebrow at him, "Uh huh I'm sure, now really…"

He gently grasped her hand and pulled her down to eye level, "No really."

And all of a sudden, his lips were pressed against hers.

She vaguely registered that he had really soft lips, before realizing that seeing she was kissing someone she'd met only seconds ago, the appropriate thing to do would be to pull away.

Before she could was able to bring her hand up to slap him, a strong arm wrapped around her waist from behind and yanked her away.

She was promptly clutched to someone's chest.

Someone's broad, muscular chest…

"Kenshin?" she gaped, looking up at him.

All thoughts of having her first kiss stolen by a stranger disappeared as she noticed just how angry Kenshin looked.

No, not just angry, _furious_.

And he was glaring at Soujiro as though he wanted to dismember him.

Kaoru blinked.

Was he feeling protective of her?

Unfortunately the idea was too outrageous to even consider seriously.

"Do you two know each other?" he bit out, anger evident in his voice.

Kaoru tried, unsuccessfully, to pry his arm from around her waist, "Kenshin…"

"Kaoru and I are very, _very_ good friends," Soujiro said calmly, smiling widely at Kenshin.

"No we're not," Kaoru said in surprise.

Kenshin didn't seem to hear her as he gritted his teeth together, "Stay away from her."

"She's not your woman."

Kaoru nearly laughed, "Are you serious?"

Once again she was ignored, "I said stay away from her or I'll make you."

The dangerous tone of Kenshin's voice made Kaoru glance at him. He _was_ being serious.

Soujiro smiled, "Make me then."

There was an explosion of movement and Kaoru felt herself being pushed to the side as the two men launched at each other.

Kenshin did a flawless roundhouse kick, sending Soujiro flying out the back door of the diner and into the staff car park. Ignoring the cries of surprise by various customers, he followed after him.

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Kaoru cried throwing her notebook at Kenshin's back, "It was only a random kiss, why are you being so over...?"

He halted and turned to face her.

It was then she noticed the strange colour of his eyes.

"No other man is allowed to touch you like that," he growled before disappearing through the doorway in which he'd thrown Soujiro.

Woah.

Did she just hear what she thought she did?

But as she watched Kenshin storm towards Soujiro, who was lying on the ground, she remembered Sano saying something about Kenshin being an expert when it came to martial arts.

Immediately she realized the danger Soujiro was in, whether or not he deserved it.

She ran outside just in time to see Soujiro land a powerful side kick directly into Kenshin's chest.

Obviously the man could hold his own.

Despite the obvious power Soujiro had behind his kick, Kenshin barely took a step back before driving forward and punching him in the stomach.

Soujiro didn't flinch but dropped his guard for a split second.

Kenshin saw it and fell back onto his left leg, delivering a front snap with his right leg, his heel connecting with Soujiro's chin.

Blood splattered.

Kenshin straightened, watching as Soujiro spat blood onto the ground.

"I've broken your jaw, you'll need to go to doctor."

Soujiro looked up at him, grinning lopsidedly and when he spoke, his voice was strained, "Seems so. I didn't last long this time but I'm sure we'll meet again Kenshin Himura."

Kaoru watched as Soujiro walked off.

That guy was a strange one.

"Uh Kenshin," she said in a hard voice, her hand on her hip, "What was that?"

"What was what?" he asked innocently, coming towards her.

She blushed at how close he was and tried to look angry, "Beating someone up just because…"

He kissed her.

His arm curled around her waist, pulling her flush against him. His right hand came up to cup her face as he deepened the kiss, his warm lips opening against hers…

And then he stopped.

Resting his forehead against hers, he caught her eyes, his expression as serious as she had ever seen it, "I love you."

Kaoru felt her eyes widen and her cheeks flush an even deeper red, "Huh?"

He frowned, "I think you're meant to say you love me too."

"Well yeah but you already knew that…" she said avoiding eye contact, trying to make it sound matter of fact.

He gently stroked her cheek, "Actually I didn't, but it makes me happy to know you do…"

She nodded slowly and raised her head to meet his lips again.

She could get used to this.

---

"How did you get Soujiro to agree to something so stupid as getting Kenshin angry," Sano asked his girlfriend thoughtfully.

Megumi rolled her eyes and grabbed a chip, "Kenshin's famous for his martial arts skills. Soujiro wanted to fight him, suss him out and since Kenshin's not doing that anymore…"

"…the only way to fight him was to get him angry," Sano finished, grinning, "Makes sense."

"No it doesn't, its stupid macho crap. But if it gets those two morons together…" Megumi said trailing off as she noticed that the sounds outside ceased.

Sano raised his eyebrow at her, "Seems it's finished already."

Megumi shrugged, "Soujiro's not at his best yet but trust me, that boys going to give Kenshin a run for his money one day."

Sano looked towards the door thoughtfully, "Wonder what they're doing now."

Megumi smiled wickedly, "Kenshin's probably ensuring that Kaoru never looks at another guy ever again."

Sano groaned, "Bloody hell."

---

"I can't believe how over the top you were. He _could_ have been a friend," Kaoru said disbelievingly as they walked back into the diner.

"A friend doesn't kiss another friend on the mouth like that," Kenshin said glancing at her sideways.

"Yeah but what if he had been a very, _very_ good friend of mine?" Kaoru said teasingly, prodding him in the ribs.

Kenshin grinned kissing her softly on the lips, "Then I wouldn't have let him live."

She gaped and watched as he walked back through the door, trying to ignore the tingles running through her body at his possessive kiss.

Maybe being with Kenshin was going to be a little more trouble than she thought.

"You're the one with the fan clubs," she muttered following him.

She didn't notice him stop and turn until she ran into him.

He grinned and cupped her chin, bending to kiss her, "Feel free to fight with them over me if you must."

"I don't think so!" she said trying to sound tough and as though his close proximity didn't affect her.

He shrugged, "You know there's no need to."

She blushed and he kissed her softly again.

"You're coming with me to Italy," he breathed, grinning, "that way I can keep an eye one you all holidays and you won't spend sleepless nights wondering what I'm up to."

Kaoru smiled, knowing he was teasing her and gently tugged his long red hair, "Who said I would?"

The End

Thank you very much to those that reviewed my story, they made me very happy! :)


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